Connector device for vacuum cleaner dust bags



Oct 1954 w. o. LANGILLE CONNECTOR DEVICE FOR VACUUM CLEANER DUST BAGS Filed Sept. 27 1950 Patented Oct. 26, 1954 CONNECTOR DEVICE FOR VACUUM CLEANER DUST BAGS Wilfred 0. Langille, Chester, N. J assignor to The Singer Manufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 27, 1950, Serial No. 186,968

4 Claims.

This invention relates to dust filtering bags for vacuum cleaners and more particularly to connector devices employed to connect and disconnect a disposable dust bag to the discharge duct of a vacuum cleaner, and one of the primary objects of the invention is to provide an improved and inexpensive device of this character.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vacuum-cleaner bag sleeve and associated clamp, that is not only designed for easy manipulation, but which is also adapted securely to hold the mouth of a dust bag to the exhaust duct of a vacuum cleaner.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner bag clamp which, when unlatched, will automatically move away from the bag, thereby facilitating the removal of a filled dust bag and the installation of an empty replacement bag.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, the invention comprises the devices, combinations, and arrangements of parts hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment of the invention, from which the several features of the invention and the advantages attained thereby will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

In :the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a vacuum cleaner dust bag, showing an inner disposable bag connected to an outer appearance bag by means of a connector sleeve and clamp embodying the present invention, portions of the outer bag being broken away to show internal details,

Fig, 2 is an enlarged perspective View of the connector sleeve and clamp shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and showing the disengaged position of the bag clamp in dotted lines,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view along the line 44 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the invention is disclosed as comprising a more or less conventional outer appearance bag I6, and an inner disposable bag I I, the lower or inlet ends of the two bags being designed to be connected by and held to the exhaust duct of a vacuum cleaner (not shown) by means of a connector sleeve and clamp arrangement, indicated generally by the numeral I8.

The outer appearance bag I6, preferably, is made from a single piece of loosely woven pervious material, are joined by a slide-fastener IS. The upper end of the outer bag I6 is engaged by a conventional clamp 2| that is connected, in a known manner, to a vacuum cleaner handle (not shown) by a bail 22.

The inner disposable bag II forms the subject of a patent application, Serial No. 192,314, filed October 26, 1950, now Patent No. 2,637,409, and thus need not be herein described in detail. Suffice it to say, that the disposable bag I! is formed of an inexpensive pervious material that may be thrown away when the bag is filled, and this inner bag II has a closed upper end 23, a cardboard trap 24 and an open mouth 26 longitudinally folded at 21.

The lower end of the outer appearance bag I6 is secured by a wire 28 to an apertured bagconnector plate 29, which may be a. duplicate of the device described and claimed in. Patent No. 2,523,739.

The same wire 28, that secures the outer bag I B to the connector 29, also secures the lower divergent end of a substantially frusto-conical impervious flexible plastic tube 3| to the connector 29. The convergent or upper end of the tube 3| is secured to the lower flanged end of an oval or elliptical, preferably aluminum, tube or sleeve 32 by an encircling collar 33, of which one end has a hole 34 for receiving a tongue 36 of the collar 33. An intermediate portion of the collar 33 is raised as at 31-31 and slotted as at 38, for pivoting one end of an L-shaped lever or carriermember 39 having a pair of hinge pins 4I-4I entering the raised portions 3'I3'I. A wire spring 42 for biasing the lever 39 has a straight portion 43 that is hooked around the inner surface of the L.-shaped bracket 39 adjacent the knee thereof. At the two ends of the straight portion 43, the spring 42 bends at right angles and forms a pair of spaced U-shaped members 44-44. The ends 4645 of these U-shaped members extent under the collar 33 and thus are clamped to the outer surface of the upper or convergent end of the flexible tube 3| by the same clamping force that clamps the upper end of the tube 3| to the lower flanged end of the aluminum sleeve 32.

The free end of the L-shaped bracket 39 is provided with a pair of longitudinally extending and laterally spaced slots 41-41 that provide means for pivotally mounting the eyed ends 48-48 of two clamping bands 49 and 5|. The free ends of the clamping bands 49 and 5| are joined by a modified form of trunk type latch 52.

To form the trunk latch 52, the clamping band 49 is provided at one end with an eye 53, by means of which one end of a channel shaped lever 54 is pivotally connected to the free end of the band 49. A wire-yoke 56 is pivotally mounted in holes formed in the side webs of the lever 54. The band 51, at a location intermediate its ends, is formed into a hook 51 for engagement by the yoke 55 and the free end of the band 51, terminates in a small turned-up lip or nib 58 thatis designed to enter and be guided by a long slot 59 formed longitudinally of the band 49.

Assuming that the bags 15 and 11 are connected to the exhaust duct of a vacuum, cleaner and that the disposable bag I! is filled with dirt,

the dirt-filled bag I! is removedinthe following manner. First, the runner of. the-slide'-fastener I9 is moved from the top to the bottom of the bag 16. connector sleeve and clamp I8. Then the trunk latch 52 is opened by moving the lever laway from the position shownin solid lines in Fig. 3,

thereby freeing the yoke 56 from the hook .5! and;-

permitting relative movement of the bands 49,5 l, to disengage the bag. As soon as the trunk latch hasbeen fully opened, the biasing spring 42 moves the L-sha-ped bracket 39 from the position shown by solid lines in Fig. 3, to the position shown by dotted lines.

task.- Then an empty disposable bag I! may easily be slipped over the free upper end of the sleeve 32 and the bands 495I are securely fastened in place by the trunklatch 52. It should benoted that the bracket 39, the bands 49 and 5i, and the trunk latch members 52 are biased away from thealuminum tube 32 by the spring 42. of the bag 11 to the tube 32.

Dotted line portions of Figs, 3 and 4 show that, when the trunk latch 52 is open, space in the vicinity of the free end of the aluminum sleeve 32 is unobstructed by bag clamping members. This advantageous, result is obtained because the.

plate; an imperviousfiexible tube. of which one end is connected .to. said plate, a rigid hollow. sleeve of which one end enters said flexible tube, a collar clamping said flexible tube to said rigidv sleeve, an L-shaped lever hinged to said collar, a spring held in place by said collar and biasing said lever to a position, remote from said rigid sleeve, two clamp member bands hinged to the free end of said L-shaped lever and embracing,

said rigid sleeve, and a trunk-latch connecting the free ends of said clamping bands.

2. Adust-bag connecting device foryacuum This exposes the inner bag I! and the This moves the bands 49 and;5l from the vicinity of the mouth of the bag 11 and thusmakesremoval of the full bag I! an easy This makes it easy to connect the mouth 25 cleaner bags, comprising, an apertured connector plate, an impervious flexible tube of which one end is connected to said plate, a rigid hollow sleeve of which one end enters said flexible tube, a collar clamping said flexible tube to said rigid sleeve, an L-shaped lever having two legs of which one leg is hinged toisaid collar, a U-shaped spring having two U-shaped legs held between said collar and said sleeve, said spring biasing said lever to a position remote from said sleeve, two clamp members hinged to the free leg of said Leshaped. lever and selectively arranged to embrace said sleeve and to be moved to a location remote ,from said sleeve when said spring moves said lever to a position remote from said sleeve, and a trunk-latch selectively connecting or disconnecting the free ends of said clamp members.

3. A connecting device for vacuum cleaner dust bags, comprising, means for connecting said device to a vacuum cleaner, a flexible tube of which oneend is connected to.- said last named means, a rigid hollow sleeve of which one end. enters saidv flexible tube, a clampingmeans for securing said flexible tube to said rigid sleeve,

a two-ended lever of which oneend is-hinged to,

said clampingmeans, a spring biasing said lever to a position remote from said rigid sleeve, two.

clamp members hinged to the free end of said two-ended lever, said clamp members embracing said, rigid sleeve, anda connecting mechanism,

releasably connecting the free ends of said clamping members.

4. A connecting device for vacuum cleaner dust bags, comprising, means for connectingsaid deviceto a vacuum cleaner, a flexible tube of which one end is connected to said last named means, a rigid hollowsleeve of. which one end enters said flexible tube, aclampingmeans for securing said flexible tube to said rigid sleeve, a two-armed.

References-Cited'in the file of this patent UNITED'STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 280,169 Gerhauser June 26, 1883 1,204,650 Claflin Nov. 14, 1916 1,861,402 Van ,Riper- May 31, 1932 FQREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 868,815 France, Oct. 20, 1941 

